


The Lives the Fae Forgot

by Xyzcl



Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: Adopted Sibling Relationship, Alternate Universe - High School, Demons, F/M, Faerie Kidnapping, Fox Eraqus, Friends to Lovers, Goat Xehanort, Half-Incubi, Half-Vampires, M/M, Mentions of Cloud/Tifa, Modern Era, Overprotective Father Xehanort, Red Eyed Vanitas, Riku Replica Has a Different Name (Kingdom Hearts), Soulmates, Teenage Rebellion, Trans Male Character, Trans Roxas, Trans Vanitas, Twins Roxas and Ventus, Twins Sora and Vanitas, lycanthropy, mentions of Aerith/Zack, mentions of dragons, trans sora, trans ventus
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-27
Updated: 2020-08-07
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:14:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 12,484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25541167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xyzcl/pseuds/Xyzcl
Summary: The faeries have a habit of taking things that don't belong to them, using tricks and games to put humans in their debt. Four boys left alone when their parents are taken by the fae find themselves adopted by an old goat named Xehanort living a peaceful life as a human who had befriended their parents before they'd been taken away. Now, 16 years later, the boys feel stifled and want to spread their wings. They want to be free like the other teens at their school, to not have to worry about things like their early curfew. How will they react when they find out the story they always thought was fake, the seemingly ridiculous tale of how their parents had been taken by a faerie named Luxu, was true?((more tags to be added later
Relationships: Axel/Roxas (Kingdom Hearts), Demyx/Xion (Kingdom Hearts), Eraqus/Xehanort (Kingdom Hearts), Isa/Vanitas (Kingdom Hearts), Riku Replica/Ventus (Kingdom Hearts), Riku/Sora (Kingdom Hearts)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to the chaotic world of the fic I've been writing on paper since the beginning of the wonderous month of June 2020! We're in the middle of a plague so hopefully this sleep deprivation, boredom fueled, possibly very long fic brings you a little bit of joy in these hard times

Ventus let out a sigh as he leaned back in his chair. He stared up at his ceiling while his mind raced through a stressed fog, reaching up to pull at his chair while he let out the breath he hadn’t even realized he’d been holding. School had been draining him to the point where his grades had started slipping just enough that while the school didn’t care, his ‘father’ did. Xehanort had seen one of his tests where he’d received a 98 instead of his usual 100 and now, after a long four hour lecture, he was stuck at home for the whole spring break. Everything was falling apart just because he’d missed two questions on a test that was worth 2% of his final grade in the class. Ventus stood up from his chair, pushing it away from his desk and quietly walked down the hall towards one of his brothers’ rooms. He closed the door behind him before gently shaking Roxas to wake him up, holding up a finger up to his lips to signal that he should keep quiet. 

“What’s going on?” Roxas mumbled while rubbing the sleep from his eyes with the heel of his palm. 

“I’m gonna sneak out, what time does Xehanort wake up?” Ventus asked with his eyes glowing in excitement. 

“Shit, you’re rebelling?” Roxas sat up quickly, the thought of his identical twin rebelling foreign enough to wake him the rest of the way up, “Are you seriously doing this?” 

Ventus nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah, I’m tired of always being the good kid and getting punished when I miss a question on a pointless test.”

“Well if you’re sneaking out, you should probably wear something else. Here, you can wear some of my clothes.” Roxas offered as he climbed out of bed. “I’ll go with you.”

“Are you sure?” Ven asked as he shifted side to side by his twin’s closet. 

“Yeah, you probably haven’t been out this late before.” Roxas explained with a shrug as he dug through his clothes before tossing a pair of black skinny jeans and a purple graphic tee with some band logo on it. “Besides, I could use some time out of the house.” 

“Should we get Vanitas and Sora?” Ventus asked while he changed into his twin’s clothes. 

“Not this time, maybe next time we sneak out.” Roxas replied casually while he pulled on a pair of black skinny jeans that matched the ones he’d handed his twin and a red graphic tee. “Sora’s too loud when you wake him up with no warning.”

Ventus pulled on a pair of high tops his twin handed him, watching as Roxas tied his Vans before the younger of the two twins opened his bedroom window. Roxas guided him out the window and into the yard before tossing down a bag with their phones, wallets, and keys. Ventus slung the knapsack over his shoulder and watched as his twin climbed out onto the porch roof, closing the bedroom window before hopping down to join his elder brother. 

“Come on, I’ve got an idea where we can go.” Roxas whispered as he began to guide his twin down the road. 

The twins snuck down their street, being careful to make sure none of their neighbors spotted them in case they ratted the pair out to their guardian. Roxas led the way about a half a mile from their house towards a shadier looking part of town. Ven could still feel excitement coursing through his body as he was led into a building by the edge of the river that from the outside seemed to be abandoned. Inside the building, Ventus was surprised to see the building was full of teenagers all talking loudly and enjoying their time together. There were arcade games scattered around the building, tables full of drinks and snacks all placed strategically by couches and chairs with a few TVs stationed near the center of the building’s main room. Roxas guided his brother over to where a blue haired teen was glaring at a redhead while the latter chugged a 2-liter bottle of Mountain Dew. 

“Hey Isa, what’s the charge tonight?” Roxas asked casually while he dug through the bag on his brother’s bag for his wallet. 

“$20 for the two of you.” the blue haired boy replied, holding out his hand while pulling a pouch out of his hoodie pocket. 

“Cool, here you go.” Roxas let out a hum as he handed over a 20 before shoving his wallet back in the bag. 

Roxas guided his twin over to one of the rhythm games in a corner to help him relax in the strange new place. Ventus’ smile grew brighter as he loosened up and stepped on the arrows as the screen prompted, slowly turning it into a contest with his twin while the two of them laughed and jeered at each other. A boy with long silver hair leaned against one of the neighboring machines while he watched the twins play. Once the round had ended, his clapping caught Ven’s attention and he turned to see the silver haired boy looking at him.

“I haven’t seen you before, Roxas never mentioned he had a brother.” the boy greeted with a glance at the younger twin. “Now I wish he had,, though meeting you in person is definitely a treat.”

“Oh, hey Ritsu.” Roxas greeted as he hopped off the metal dance pad and stretched. “If you’re here, that must mean Axel finally finished killing his stomach with his favorite piss yellow soda.”

“Yeah, he’s on the grey couch getting a stick and poke from Luxord if you wanna talk to him. Don’t worry,” Ritsu reassured as he looked at Ventus again. “Your brother’s safe with me.”

Something about the look in Ritsu’s bluish green eyes sent a shiver up Ven’s spine. He felt his twin’s hand pat his back and turned to see Roxas smiling at him. 

“I’ll take the bag, you have fun alright? I’ll come get you in a few hours to head home.” Roxas explained as he took the knapsack from his twin before running off to find his friend. 

Ritsu held his hand out to help the other teen down before guiding him over to one of the snack tables for something to drink. “So what’s your name? I haven’t seen you around here with Roxas before.”

“My name’s Ventus, how did you know I’m not Roxas?” Ven asked curiously while babying a red Solo cup of orange soda.

“That’s easy, Roxas is taller and your eyes are darker.” the silver haired teen explained.

“Glad to know you think I’m short.” Ventus joked, sticking his tongue out playfully before taking a sip of his drink. 

“You’re not short, you’re huggable.” Ritsu replied seriously, wrapping his arms around the smaller boy’s waist as he guided his companion to one of the couches that was out of the way and somewhat secluded. “You don’t look like the type that hangs out in places like this late at night.”

“Yeah, I normally stay home. Actually, I’m usually asleep right about now.” Ventus explained while he settled in on the couch.

“Baby’s first teenage rebellion? What fueled it?” Ritsu settled in next to his companion with his arm around the back of the couch behind the blond’s shoulders. 

“My guardian got mad at me for not getting a perfect score on a test. I missed two questions and he grounded me for a week!” Ventus complained, his expression morphing into a pout as he stared into the red cup full of soda he was holding. 

“A whole week over two questions? Does he do the same thing to Roxas?” the whole situation seemed to pique the taller teen’s interest as he took a sip from his own caramel colored drink.

“No, he treats Roxas and our other brother’s differently. It’s like he thinks there’s something wrong with me and even if I got 100% on all my tests and got into a good college in a couple years when I graduate it wouldn’t be enough.” Ventus looked around the building, smiling when he saw his twin laughing with the redhead they’d seen with Isa earlier. “He let’s Roxas and Vanitas get away with skipping classes they don’t like and even Sora doesn’t have to worry about getting anything better than a C in any of his classes but if I get even a 99 on a test it’s suddenly the end of the world.”

“Sounds like you just wanna have some fun like your brothers.” Ritsu noted with an apologetic look on his face. “I typed you all wrong when you came in, I thought you were just some confused prep when you walked in wearing Roxas’ clothes.” 

“Is it really that obvious?” Ventus asked with a look down at the clothes he was wearing. 

“Well yeah, usually the rips on the knees of jeans go on the knees, not slightly under them.” Ritsu noted casually. “So do you and your brothers all go to the same school then?”

Ventus nodded and leaned back in his seat to look up at the ceiling. “Yeah, we’re all sophomores this year at the local high school.”

“Wait, all four of you?” Ritsu seemed confused as he set his cup on the low table across from the couch. 

“Yeah, we’re all adopted. Two sets of twins raised by a weird old man with a history fetish.” Ventus explained before finishing off his drink. “What about you?”

“I’m a junior at the same school. I’m surprised I’ve never run into you before though.” 

The two teens chatted idly for a while before deciding to play one of the arcade games together. They settled into the booth of some Halo themed shooting game, throwing well meaning jabs at each other over their aim while they worked their way through the level. At one point, Ventus almost died and had to be saved by his companion. 

“My hero!” Ventus joked as he shot one of the enemies coming down the hall.

“You can thank me later, there’s still more coming!” 

They laughed and teased each other as if they’d known each other for years, moving from game to game as they worked their way around the machines. It all seemed to be going so well until Roxas came over to fetch his brother. Ventus looked up at Ritsu, his face falling when he realized he really did have to go home.

“Here, give me your number.” Ritsu ordered as he pulled a sharpie out of his pocket and held it out to the younger boy. 

Ventus nodded and took the marker, quickly writing his number on his new friend’s forearm before handing it back to him. “Text me?”

“Of course. You two get home safe, I’ll see you around Ventus.” Ritsu waved the twins off while he watched them hurry out of the building, pocketing his sharpie before looking around for his own twin.

“You had fun.” Riku noted as his brother sat down next to him in front of one of the TVs, noticing the numbers written on his skin. “Please tell me they’re not a human.”

“He is and for your information he smells a million times better than anyone you’ve tried setting me up with. He’s cute too.” Ritsu explained with a sigh as he settled in on the oldest of all the couches. “Xemnas needs to throw this one away already.” 

“Don’t change the subject. What are you gonna do when he finds out? You know humans freak out about things they don’t understand!” Riku argued as he leaned forward with his head in his hands. “It’s already bad enough Axel has a crush on Roxas and now you’re into his brother?” 

“It just feels right, you know? Like maybe he’s who I’m meant to be with.”

Ritsu looked over at his twin with a flat expression. “You sound drunk.”

“Well considering I’ve had my clothes on all night, I’m pretty sure I’m sober.” Ritsu teased as he jabbed his younger brother’s ribs with his elbows. “He said he has two other brothers, maybe you’ll get lucky and one of them’s your type.” 

“The day I fall for a human is the day I jump into the river naked.”

“I’ll hold you to that Riku.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is SO LONG and I hadn't even realized that until having to copy paste it here, oh my god. It's legitimately over 8 pages long on my document and I swear I'm going insane while I look at it

Ventus flopped down in his bed, hugging his large floppy cat stuffed animal with a bright grin on his face. Roxas had gotten them safely home by 2am and as far as he knew, their guardian would be none the wiser in the morning. His heart was still racing as he mentally ran through the events of the night before burying his face in his stuffed animal’s fur. 

“I wish you could meet Ritsu, you’d like him Chirithy.” Ven whispered before wrapping himself in his blankets and plugging his phone into the charger beside his bed.

He glanced at his notification screen one more time as his phone gave a quiet buzz, his heart leaping into his throat at the sight of the unknown number.

[Ritsu] Hey Ventus, miss me?

[Ventus] It’s only been an hour xp

[Ritsu] I take that as a yes then?

{Ventus] Yeah

[Ritsu] Any chance you can come out tonight or tomorrow night?

[Ventus] I probably can’t tonight, gotta ask Roxas. Soon though?

[Ritsu] Soon. Get some sleep sweetheart, you’re not the type to normally stay up this late

[Ventus] Goodnight Ritsu

[Ritsu] Night Ventus 

Ventus’ smile was almost bright enough to light up his dark room as he placed his phone face down on his nightstand and turned to face the wall beside his bed, holding Chirithy close as he settled into his bed. The next thing he knew, Sora was jumping into his bed to wake him up with the sunlight streaming in through his window. The blond let out a quiet groan and peeked out from under his stuffed animal to see his cheerful brother smiling down at him. 

“Morning Ven!” Sora greeted happily as he hugged his brother, half laying on him so he couldn’t fall back asleep. 

“Morning Sora.” Ventus mumbled as he hugged the other teen back. “What time is it?”

“It’s 9 in the morning, Roxy said I could wake you up now.” Sora explained as he cuddled his slightly older brother.

“It definitely feels like 9am…” Ventus yawned and stretched his arms over his head. “Is Xehanort up?” 

“Yeah, he already left for work. He left us some money for lunch and said he’ll be home for dinner.” the brunet explained, sitting up to let his brother get out of bed. “Vani’s counting down the days until he goes on another work trip.”

“Oh yeah? How many are we down to now?” Ven asked while he walked over to dig through his dresser.

“13!” Sora replied cheerfully.

“So right after we go back to school…” Ventus mumbled, settling on a pair of grey lounge shorts and a loose green tee shirt Eraqus had picked up for him on a work trip.

“Yeah, we’ll have the house to ourselves for two whole months! How cool is that?” Sora picked up his brother’s stuffed animal, hugging it tightly as he laid down on the bed.

“Two months without an adult, maybe I can focus on something other than school for once.” Ventus let out a sigh as he pulled the shirt on. 

“I still don’t get why the old man gets on your case like that.” Vanitas grumbled as he leaned against the doorframe of his brother’s room. “Breakfast’s ready.”

Sora cheered happily as he jumped up and ran downstairs. Vanitas looked over what his brother was wearing before nodding and turned away. Ventus looked down at his clothes to see what his older brother was looking for, making sure his shorts were covering the mark on his thigh before walking downstairs to join his brothers. Roxas nodded to his twin in greeting as he sat down at the table, offering Ven a plate so he could serve himself from the plates piled with pancakes and eggs that had been prepped. Ventus thanked his twin, serving himself a pancake and two slices of bacon while the rest of his brothers piled their plates with breakfast food. Vanitas gave his brother a strange look as he watched him eat. The look of concern the eldest of the four gave his brother was enough to make Ven stare down at his plate in an attempt to ignore the look he was being given.

“Not hungry?” Vanitas asked with a soft nudge to the foot of the blond across from him. 

Ventus shook his head and smiled up at his elder brother. “I’m fine.”

Roxas nudged his twin’s hand with his own to catch his attention, the two of them making a silent agreement to meet upstairs after eating. Ventus nodded before going back to eating his pancake. He let out a quiet hum to let his brothers know he was enjoying the food. Once his plate had been cleared of food, Ventus stood up and carried his plate to the sink to rinse it off before putting it in the dishwasher. He wandered back up to his room, turning on music on his phone as he started to make his bed. Ventus hummed along to the song that was playing while he tucked Chirithy into the comfortable warmth of his blankets. He heard his phone vibrate and picked it up, his breath catching at the sight of a text from the boy he’d met the night before. 

[Ritsu] Morning sweetheart, how’d you sleep?

[Ventus] Like the dead. What about you?

[Ritsu] Better than ever thanks to you ♥ Any plans on coming out soon?

[Ventus] My guardian’s going on a trip in a couple weeks, I can come out then

[Ritsu] That sounds amazing, how long will he be away?

[Ventus] About two months

[Ritsu] Think your brothers would be willing to let me borrow you for a couple weeks during that time?

[Ventus] They’d have to meet you first

[Ritsu] When can I meet them?

[Ventus] I’ll ask them

“Ask us what?” Roxas asked while reading over his twin’s shoulder. 

“Ritsu wants to meet Sora and Vanitas.” Ventus explained quietly as he leaned back against his brother.

“Well if you think Sora can keep a secret we can all sneak out tonight.” Roxas offered while hugging his elder brother from behind. “Now are you gonna tell me what’s bugging you?”

“I just can’t stop thinking about last night.” Ven mumbled while shoving his phone back in his pocket. 

“Right, you’ve never been out like that before…” Roxas hummed quietly, laying his head on his brother’s shoulder. “Do you wanna tell Vanitas before he has a panic attack worrying about you?”

“That’s probably a good idea...I should at least let him know I wore full jeans last night so he doesn’t freak out over that.”

Roxas let out a confirming him and rocked side to side with his twin. “Do you think I could introduce them to Axel?

“I’m sure they’d love him.” Ven replied with a smile as he thought back to the redhead from the night before. “He’ll get along with Sora for sure.”

“I’m glad you think so.” Roxas replied with a relieved sigh.

“Come on, let’s go talk to Vanitas.” Ventus patted his twin’s hands before pulling away and heading downstairs.

Roxas followed his elder twin downstairs, keeping an eye on Ven to make sure nothing happened while they joined their brothers in the living room. Vanitas looked up from his phone, motioning to the couch beside him for the blond twins to join them. Ventus sat down beside his elder brother with a soft bounce of the couch and was quickly pulled protectively against the black haired boy’s side. Vanitas ran his fingers through his brother’s hair while setting his phone on the end table beside him.

“So what’s on your mind?” Vanitas asked calmly, his red eyes seeming to bore into his younger brother’s soul.

“First off, don’t panic.” Ventus started as he cuddled with the boy just a few hours older than him. “Me and Roxas snuck out last night and I met a nice guy. He hung out with me and we talked for a bit and...he wants to meet you and Sora?”

Sora perked up at the mention of his name from his spot on the floor where he was laying with his head on Roxas’ lap. Vanitas let out a sigh, holding his head in his hands as he groaned in dismay. He could see Ventus’ meek expression and once he realized he was outnumbered, he caved in with a nod. 

“Alright, we’ll meet him. When are we doing this?” Vanitas asked as he sat back in his seat. 

“How does tonight sound?” Roxas asked from the floor. “Xehanort usually goes to bed early on days like today so as long as Sora can keep quiet he won’t catch us.”

“I’m not that loud!” Sora whined, puffing his cheeks out in a pout as he pushed his brother down and laid on him.

“Alright, make sure you’re all ready to go by 10 then. I’ll put the lunch money away in case we need it tonight so you’ll all have to put up with my cooking again.” Vanitas explained as he allowed Ventus to cuddle with him. 

“Thanks Vanitas!” Ventus smiled and hugged his elder brother.

The red eyed teen grumbled quietly, turning on a random TV channel while the four of them settled in together. Ventus quietly sent a text to his friend to let him know they’d all be at the clubhouse that night. 

[Ritsu] I’ll be waiting

Ventus pulled on his shoes quietly, lacing them up as Vanitas opened his door to make sure he was awake. His elder brother signaled for him to join them in Roxas’ room before quietly walking down the hall. The blond quickly checked to make sure that everything he needed was in his pockets before quickly joining his brothers across the hall. Roxas guided them all out his bedroom window before closing it behind him and hopping down to join the other three teens on the ground. The four brothers snuck down the street, following the younger of the two blonds to the abandoned looking clubhouse where they were greeted with the usual level of noise as soon as they opened the door. Roxas guided them over to where Isa was sitting on a couch with a tall, tan skinned teen with silver hair, the two of them watching as Axel made a fool of himself playing Guitar Hero against a blond boy with a mullet-like haircut who was being cheered on by a girl with short black hair who was standing on the sideline. Roxas greeted the blue haired boy before motioning to Vanitas and Sora.

“Ritsu wanted to meet Sora and Vanitas, so we brought them.” Roxas explained casually.

“It’s $40 for the four of you, give the money to Xemnas and then once Axel’s finished making a fool of himself we’ll head to the grey room.” Isa replied, pulling his hair back into a ponytail as he stood up. 

“I’m done!” Axel called back as he set the wireless guitar controller down on top of the coffee table. He hopped over the table to join the brothers and the blue haired teen, giving his friend’s ribs a playful nudge. “Back already Roxas? You must’ve missed me.”

Vanitas handed over the two 20s to the silver haired boy on the couch before stepping between his younger brother and Axel. “Who are you and what do you want with my brother?”

“Woah, easy there! I’m not doing anything sketchy, I promise!” Axel explained with his hands held up defensively. “The name’s Axel, Roxas is one of my friends.”

“Down Vanitas, he doesn’t bite.” Roxas grumbled while pulling his elder brother away from his friend. “Come on, Isa’s taking us to meet Ritsu. Isn’t that what you and Sora came here for?”

Vanitas let out a sigh and nodded, offering Axel one last glare before allowing himself to be led away to a room with his brothers by Isa. The redhead tagged along like a lost puppy and the six of them quickly settled into chairs around a table. The brothers sat on one side of the table with Isa sitting across from Vanitas and Axel across from Roxas. 

“Ritsu and Riku will join us soon.” Isa explained as he closed his eyes and settled into his chair. “They said they wanted to make a good impression and went to get pizza.” 

Sora’s interest was piqued at the mention of pizza and he sat up excitedly, seeming to have been already won over by the thought of food. His twin however was still unimpressed. Vanitas had just met Isa for the first time and yet there was a tension between them that the taller of the two seemed to be trying to ignore. A knock on the door pulled them all from the awkward silence as two nearly identical teens stepped inside with pizza boxes and soda bottles. 

“Sorry about the wait, Domino’s doesn’t like it when you show up just before closing and order four large pizzas. Who would’ve thought?” Ritsu joked as he set the pizzas on the table while his brother quietly placed the 2-liter bottles of soda and a bag of solo cups he’d been forced into carrying onto the table. He held out a hand to the black haired boy, sensing from the amount of hostility in his look that he was the eldest of the four brothers. “It’s nice to meet you, I’m Ritsu. This sulky guy who looks like me with shorter hair is my twin brother Riku.” 

Riku nodded as he was addressed before settling into the empty seat across from Sora and watching to make sure his brother didn’t make a fool of himself. Vanitas took the hand offered to him and gave it a firm shake before releasing it. The elder of the silver haired twins settled into the seat across from Ventus before offering his friend a comforting smile. 

“So what do you want from my brothers?” Vanitas asked bluntly as his eyes flicked back and forth between Axel and Ritsu.

“To be friends of course.” Ritsu replied cheerfully.

“Same here.” Axel answered, poking open one of the pizza boxes and cheering when he saw it was pepperoni. 

Ventus listened to his elder brother as he played 20 questions with the other two boys, pouring himself a cup of orange soda and settling into his seat. He noticed a flash of concern from Roxas when his twin noticed he wasn’t even looking at the pizza and turned away to watch Isa’s reaction to the whole situation with guilt settling heavily on him. He’d need to tell at least his twin what was going on soon to keep him from overreacting. He offered a reassuring nudge to Roxas’ foot before settling into his chair again, taking a moment to find a comfortable position. Ritsu tapped his friend’s foot to catch his attention, smiling when Ven looked up at him.

“Not hungry?” Ritsu asked curiously.

Ventus shook his head before offering a reassuring smile. “I’m alright.”

Ritsu let out a quiet hum as he poked open the box of cheese pizza, putting the smallest piece from the box onto a plate and offering it to his friend. “Think you can handle one slice?”

“I can try…” Ventus mumbled as he accepted the plate that was offered to him. 

Ritsu grabbed himself a slice of pizza, keeping an eye on his friend while he ate. Ventus poked at the slice of pizza he’d been given for a moment before caving in and picking it up to take a bite. He ate slowly while Ritsu’s foot settled next to his own to comfort him. Vanitas slowly relaxed as he ate, the pizza seeming to win him over. After a few minutes, Sora let out a whimper before standing up and looking around the room.

“I need the bathroom.” Sora explained as he shifted foot to foot awkwardly. 

“I’ll show him the way.” Riku mumbled, pushing his chair back from the table and standing up. He looked at the brunet, looking him over before turning towards the door. “Follow me.” 

Sora followed behind the stranger, leaving the rest of the room to turn their attention back to Ven. The blond took another bite of his pizza before setting it on his plate and going back to sipping his drink. Ritsu tapped his friend’s foot softly to catch his attention, raising an eyebrow in question. Ventus looked away, seeming embarrassed while rubbing at his lower stomach softly. 

“I’m gonna go play some games with Xion.” Roxas announced as he stood up, walking around the table to pull the redhead out of his chair. “I’m taking Axel with me. You can keep having your glaring match with Isa, Vani.”

“Don’t go too far.” Vanitas mumbled in acknowledgement, tearing his eyes from Isa’s after being caught staring. 

“Got it. Come find me when you’re ready to go home.” Roxas replied before happily dragging his friend out onto the main floor of the building. 

The room’s silence became even more awkwards with the removal of two more people, leaving Ven to awkwardly sip his drink while his brother continued sneaking glanced at the blue haired teen and vice versa. Ritsu couldn’t help but wonder if there was something he could to break the silence before being distracted by the flicker of pain he saw on the blond’s face. He glanced over at Vanitas to make sure he was calm before deciding to talk.

“Hey Ventus, can we step outside for a couple minutes?” Ritsu asked calmly while he stood up and pushed his chair in. 

“Sure, fresh air sounds nice.” Ventus mumbled before glancing at his elder brother. He stood up and pushed his chair in, giving Vanitas a hug to reassure him he’d be alright. “I’ll text you if something comes up, I promise.”

The black haired teen nodded and patted his brother’s hand to let him know it was alright. Ventus followed behind Ritsu, allowing himself to be guided back out into the main room of the building and out towards the front door. Ritsu held the front door open for his companion, closing it behind them before guiding him away from the building towards a small tree lined clearing by the river where no one would bother them. Once he was sure no one else would bother them, the silver haired boy pulled his friend down to sit together in the grass. 

“You look like you’re in pain, what happened?” Ritsu asked worriedly.

Ventus fidgeted with his hands awkwardly, looking out at the river as he spoke. “I’m kinda...starting my period.”

“Your period? Oh shit, I’m sorry, I didn’t know!” Ritsu apologized quickly before pulling his friend closer and starting to softly massage his lower back. “I mean, I could smell blood but I thought it was just Demyx pulling a prank on Isa again…”

“You can smell blood?” Ven asked quietly, melting into the cool hands attempting to work away his cramps. “Is it that bad?”

“No, no, it’s not like that! I just have a really good sense of smell!” Ritsu reassured as he worked his thumbs into one of the tenser spots of his friend’s back. “I doubt anyone else noticed. Want me to ask Xion if she has any ibuprofen?”

The blond shook his head, settling in between his friend’s legs before moving those cold hands to his lower stomach. “Can we just sit like this for a little while? Your hands feel nice.”

“Aren’t they cold?” Ritsu asked, shifting so the two of them were more comfortable.

“Yeah but they feel nice. Cold hands, warm heart.” Ven smiled up at the older boy, leaning against him as they both settled in to watch the water flow.

Ritsu let out a quiet hum, resting his chin on his friend’s shoulder while he kept him close. The sound of frogs and crickets were the only interruption to their comfortable silence. Ventus closed his eyes as the cold hands on his lower stomach rubbed out as much of the tension as they could. 

“Are you gonna be able to get back inside when you head home?” Ritsu asked quietly while massaging the space just above his friend’s waistband.

“My brothers can help me back into the house.” Ventus replied reassuringly, letting out a quiet hum as those hands worked the tension from his muscles. “If you go any lower this might get awkward.” 

“Sorry.”

Those cold hands retreated higher to massage closer to where the top of his friend’s uterus was in an attempt to help with the cramps. Ritsu focused his attention on making sure things didn’t get too uncomfortable for the blond boy in his lap. Ventus let out a relaxed sigh, guiding the other boy’s hands slightly lower to where the worst of his pain was and closing his eyes. Part of him was embarrassed by the fact he had the hands of someone he barely knew so close to such an intimate part of his body but after another five minutes of the soothing rubbing against his lower stomach he couldn’t help but think this was what bliss was like.

“I hope I end up with someone as sweet as you.” Ventus mumbled absentmindedly. 

“If I knew you better, I’d ask if it could be me.” Ritsu replied casually while continuing to try and massage away his cramps. 

“Maybe one day it can be.” the blond shifted closer to his friend before moving to hold hone of his hands. “Think my brothers would be mad if I started flirting with you?”

“Considering I’m surprised Axel and Roxas aren’t already dating, the strange sexual tension between Isa and Vanitas, and the fact Riku’s already giving Sora puppy dog eyes, I think us flirting would be the last thing they’d worry about.”

Ventus laughed and softly nuzzled his friend’s shoulder. “Come on, let’s go back in and watch Axel make a fool of himself.”

“Sounds good to me.”


	3. Chapter 3

Sora gripped the hem of his hoodie as he was guided across the floor to a small doorway, hurrying through it when the boy who’d guided him over motioned towards the doorway. He noticed all the stalls were occupied and let out a quiet whimper before rushing back out to where Riku was waiting for him. 

“Is there another bathroom?” Sora asked quietly while fidgeting with the hem of his hoodie to distract himself.

“Is there something wrong in there?” Riku asked, his eyebrow raising curiously.

“All the stalls are full and I can’t use the urinals…” the brunet explained, starting to shift side to side.

Something seemed to visibly click in Riku’s mind as he quickly grabbed the younger boy’s arm and hurried through the messy maze of games towards a back office. He pushed through the door, ignoring the confused questioning from a girl with short red hair before gently shoving his companion into a staff restroom. Once he heard the door lock, Riku walked back over to the girl sitting at the office desk.

“Hey Kairi, sorry about barging in like this.” he apologized while sitting in the chair across from her.

“What was so important you needed to bring a stranger in to use the office bathroom?” Kairi asked curiously, turning off her computer monitor to hide the spreadsheet she had been working on.

“Men’s room was full.” Riku replied cryptically. 

Kairi let out a sigh as she shook her head, spinning in her desk chair out of boredom. “You don’t normally do things like this for people, is he the one?”

“I don’t know…” Riku let out a sigh and rested his head on the desk. “He just smells really good, I can’t stand it. Was this how you were with Namine?” 

“Almost. It’s not really the same since she’s not human and I’m not mixed like you and your brother.” she sat with her elbows on the desk, resting her chin on her hands. “So, what part of you is more thirsty?”

“Zip it Kairi.” he grumbled with his face tinting pink as he turned away.

“Oooo, this is a first. Little Ri-ri’s all hot and bothered thinking about his cute little human boy!” Kairi teased with a giggle. “I haven’t seen Isa in a while, is he okay?”

“He’s been staring at one of Sora’s older brothers since he came in.” Riku explained, sitting up and glancing at the bathroom when he heard the lock click.

Sora stepped out of the bathroom with a relieved sigh, drying his hands with a paper towel before throwing it into the trash can beside the restroom door. “Thank you for letting me use your bathroom!”

“No problem. Do you feel better now?” Kairi asked while waving him over to sit in the chair next to Riku.

“A lot better.” Sora replied cheerily as he plopped down into the empty chair.

Kairi offered both of the boys a Capri Sun pouch and a pack of fruit snacks before propping her feet up on a box under her desk. “I’m Kairi, one of Riku’s friends.”

“I’m Sora, Roxas’ little brother.” Sora introduced himself casually while he poked the juice pack straw through the designated space. 

“I didn’t know Roxas had a little brother.” Kairi mused while opening her own juice pack. 

“I’m the youngest! There’s actually four of us, two sets of twins but all born on the same night.” Sora explained before taking a sip of his juice. “Me and Vanitas are almost identical but Roxas and Ventus are identical unless you count Ven’s surgery scars.” 

“Do you go to the local high school?” Kairi asked, receiving a warning glare from Riku as he quietly ate his fruit snacks. 

“Yeah, I’m a sophomore this year.” the brunet swung his legs cheerilly while popping open his pack of fruit snacks. “I’m in some of the lower leveled classes though.” 

“If you need help with any of your classes , Riku’s really smart!” Kairi offered before jumping slightly when her friend’s foot met her shin. “I’m sure he’d love to help you with homework sometime.”

“I can’t do that, my dad doesn’t like me and my brothers spending time around most people. He freaks out thinking we’re gonna be kidnapped if anymore except Eraqus comes over to our birthday parties.” Sora complained while sorting out his fruit snacks by shape.

Kairi and Riku shared a confused look at that statement before looking back at the human boy, watching as he sorted out his fruit snacks. She handed him another pack of fruit snacks and watched as he excitedly added the new pack to his carefully organized piles.

“Your dad sounds protective.” Riku noted quietly.

Sora nodded and looked over at the silver haired boy. “Yeah, he told us something about our parents getting kidnapped by faeries when we were babies before we were adopted but I don’t see why they’d take our parents and leave us behind. They probably all died and he just didn’t want to tell a bunch of kids how their parents died.” 

Kairi felt her stomach sink as she listened to what the human boy was saying, fully understanding what his guardian’s story could mean if it was true. “And what if it turned out to be true?”

“Then I guess I’d have to ask the faerie who took all out parents away why they did it.” Sora replied with a shrug. “I mean, there’s always a reason why they do things in stories right? Why would they take four adults and leave their kids?”

“Maybe you’ll find out what happened to them when you’re older, Sora.” Kairi offered with a reassuring smile. “Come on, let’s go play some games or something.”


	4. Chapter 4

Vanitas quietly stared at the teen across from him, taking a bite from his piece of pizza while he watched the other boy tap away on his phone. It seemed like he was trying to avoid eye contact. The black haired boy motioned towards the bottle of Dr Pepper Riku had brought before wiping his hands with a napkin. 

“Can you pass me that one?” Vanitas asked casually.

Isa let out a confirming hum before passing the 2-liter bottle over to his companion and looking back down at his phone. Vanitas poured himself another cup of soda, his red eyes examining the other boy while he screwed the cap back onto the bottle. He set the bottle down in front of where his youngest brother had been sitting before taking a sip of his drink. 

“So, how’d you end up stuck with the demon, puppy?” Vanitas asked casually while he set his cup down. 

Isa paused in his scrolling, turning off his phone screen before pocketing it and looking up at the other boy across from him. “How did you know?”

“Your eyes.” Vanitas explained before pointing to his own red eyes. “Axel’s pupils are the wrong shape and have an orange ring. As for you, gold isn’t a normal shade of brown.”

“And your eyes?” the taller man asked calmly.

“My mother had red eyes, my dad had blue.” Vanitas explained before taking another sip of his drink. “My brothers haven’t noticed, relax.”

Isa nodded, his golden brown eyes not leaving his companion as he reached into the nearest pizza box for a random piece of pizza. He took a bite of the pepperoni pizza while watching as Vanitas continued to eat quietly. There was something off about him, something that ate at the back of his mind while the two of them sat in silence. A scent continued to catch him off guard while he stared at the younger boy.

“You just finished your cycle, didn’t you?” Isa asked quietly while he set his pizza down on his plate and wiped his hands on a napkin. 

“Quit scenting me from across the room, it’s rude.” Vanitas grumbled before taking a sip from his cup. “Yes, I just finished my damn cycle. What about it?”

“I’m just surprised. If not for the scent, I never would have noticed.” the blue haired teen mused quietly. 

“Do you think those two mixed boys and your demon friend’ve noticed?”

Isa shook his head with a sigh and an amused look. “Riku probably has and Ritsu will soon if he doesn’t already know with how uncomfortable Ventus looked. Axel though...Roxas would need to tell him bluntly.”

“He’s that dense?” Vanitas asked with an amused look as he rested his head in his palm with his elbow propped on the table. 

“Worse at times.” Isa replied with a small chuckle.

The human boy let out a quiet hum, wiping his hands off with a napkin before standing up. “It’s stuffy in here and I’m curious. How would you feel about letting a human see your ears?”

“You’re very forward.” Isa noted while watching as the other boy walked around the table towards him, pushing his chair back before standing up. “Do you normally ask people for favors like this when you meet them?”

“No and I don’t normally leave my brothers with strangers.” the shorter boy explained, leaning against the table while he waited for his companion to decide his next course of action.

“I normally don’t do this on the first date.” Isa whispered, settling his hands on either side of his companion’s hips while he leaned over the human. “Sure you wanna play with a wolf?”

“Depends on how confident the big bad wolf is in his fur quality.” Vanitas answered, reaching up to run his hands along the older teen’s chest. “How about we go somewhere a little more...private?”

Isa’s heart skipped a beat under the human boy’s hands as he nodded before pulling away and taking a breath to steady himself. “Follow me.”

Vanitas followed behind the blue haired teen as he was led up to a somewhat out of the way set of stairs and through what more than likely used to be an administrative hallway, the two of them entering a room at the end of the hall. Isa locked the door behind them, rubbing his shoulder while he watched the human settle into a beanbag chair on the floor.

“Ever seen another man naked other than your brothers?” he asked while pulling his shirt up over his head.

“My adopted dad and his boyfriend but those don’t count.” Vanitas replied casually.

The older boy rolled his eyes before throwing his shirt at his companion. “Cover your eyes, we’ll pop that cherry another time.”

Vanitas leaned back in his seat, setting the shirt on his face to cover his eyes. He listened to the sound of rustling fabric, mentally debating peeking out at his companion. It was all too tempting to sneak a glance at the other boy while he was naked. He could hear Isa let out a grunt and then the room was quiet. Something soft pressed against his hand before the shirt was pulled off his face and the head of a large grey wolf took over his view.

“Oh god…” Vanitas whispered while looking over the large canine figure in front of him. He slowly moved to run his fingers through the wolf’s soft fur. “You’re gorgeous.” 

The wolf let out an amused huff before climbing onto the large black bean bag chair, laying partially on Vanitas while the human boy ran his hands through his long soft fur. They both sat together in comfortable silence, curled up together as they appreciated each other’s company. Isa rested his head on Vanitas’ chest, his tail comfortably resting across the black haired teen’s legs. Vanitas let out a quiet hum while he softly scratched between the wolf’s ears.

“When Roxas and Ven asked me to come with them I wasn’t expecting to enjoy this trip. There’s just something about having a wolf laying on you that makes everything good though.” Vanitas mused while he continued petting the large wolf half on him.

Isa’s tail flicked in amusement, nudging his cheek with his wet nose before rolling onto his back playfully with his paws in the air. Vanitas let out a laugh as he rubbed the large canine’s belly. They both lazed around in the room with Vanitas almost constantly stroking his new friend’s fur. Time seemed to slow down as they enjoyed the quiet of the room they were in. After what felt like an eternity, they were interrupted by the sound of an alarm going off.

“Time for me to head home.” Vanitas explained with a groan of dismay. “Come on, get up.” 

Isa let out a quiet huff, laying even more on the human boy while seeming to pout. It was as if he’d been so touch starved that the concept of having to let him leave was something he didn’t want. 

“Come on puppy, I need you to let me up. I’ll give you my phone number just please let me up.” the younger male pushed at the heavy canine on top of him before finally being allowed up. “Are we really doing this today?”

The wolf gathered up his clothes before wandering over into a corner, leaving Vanitas to stand up and text his brothers to meet him by the front door. Isa wrapped his arms around the smaller teen’s waist and read over his shoulder while waiting patiently.

“Since I showed you my ears, I have one request.” Isa whispered while nuzzling his new friend’s neck.

Vanitas tilted his head back, deciding this was a better alternative to not being able to pet the other boy again. At the very least, he wouldn’t be bored. The lycan pulled down the shoulder of his companion’s shirt before biting down on the juncture between his neck and shoulder. He held his wrist up to Vanitas’ mouth to let him bite down in an attempt to soothe his pain while Isa made sure his bite mark would leave a scar.

“You’re all mine now.” Isa whispered softly, licking up the small amount of blood leaking from the bite mark while he pulled his phone from his pocket and handed it to the human teen. “Here, give me your phone number. The code’s 0724.”

“Is that your birthday?” Vanitas asked while he unlocked the phone in his hands, quickly opening the contacts and adding his number in.

“No, it’s just easy to remember.” Isa mumbled against his partner’s skin. “I’ll text you in an hour so you and your brothers can get home first.”

Vanitas nodded and phone back to its owner. “Any advice for hiding your bite mark from my guardian?”

“Turtlenecks or learn how to use makeup.” Isa offered, pressing a soft kiss to the mark he’d left before pulling away while he pocketed his phone. “Be careful on your way home.” 

“I will be.” Vanitas replied casually.

He straightened his shirt to make sure he didn’t look as disheveled as he felt, looking at his reflection in one of the windows before unlocking the door and hurrying downstairs to meet up with his brothers. The lycan pulled his phone out of his pocket once he was sure he was alone, watching the human brothers leave before texting Axel to meet him upstairs. 

This was going to be a wild conversation. 


	5. Chapter 5

Axel allowed himself to be pulled along out of the small room they’d been in for a “meet the family” type event. As much as he was glad he finally knew more about his friend, Vanitas was just a little too grumpy for his taste.

“Anything you wanna play? Or are we just escaping from the glare fest?” Axel asked casually while appreciating how soft his friend’s hand was. 

“Whatever Xion’s playing is fine, I just can’t watch Vanitas and Isa glare at each other for the next three hours.” Roxas explained while he looked around the room. Once he’d spotted the black haired girl, he made a beeline towards where her and Demyx were setting up for karaoke. “Hey Xion, room for two more?”

“Roxas, Axel! There’s always room for you two!” Xion replied happily as she hugged her friends. 

The four teens all piled onto the couch together, taking turns singing with their voices cracking on notes they weren’t prepared to hit. After a few rounds, Roxas offered to go get drinks for everyone and made his way over to one of the tables to get them all something to drink. 

“When are you gonna tell him?” Demyx asked while he moved to sit on the arm of the couch. 

“I’ll tell him when I’m ready.” Axel replied, looking down at his hands. “I just don’t wanna lose him, you know?”

“We get it Axel but what if he finds out without you telling him? He’s not gonna be happy if that happens.” Xion explained with a sad expression. 

“I know I just...look, I’ll tell him when his dad’s away, alright?” the redhead leaned back in his seat with a sigh.

“Tell who what?” Roxas asked as he walked over with four cans of soda, offering his friends each a can before sitting between Axel and Xion. 

“It’s nothing.” Axel replied while opening the can he’d been handed. “Thanks for the drink Rox.”

“No problem.”

Roxas let out a quiet sigh as he leaned against the redhead, sipping from his can of soda while watching Demyx switch the TV over to Crunchyroll. The four of them all settled in to watch Rising of the Shield Hero while the sounds of the games in the background faded away. Axel wrapped an arm around his friend’s shoulders while the two of them focused intently on the episode that was playing. It was nice to just spend time together without worrying about anyone texting Roxas to ask where he was.

“Hey Ax, hold your arms up for a second.” Roxas whispered after a while, looking up at the redhead. 

Axel held his arms up like he’d been asked to, having to try and calm himself down as the smaller teen climbed into his lap. The two of them cuddled comfortably on their corner of the couch while sipping from their cheap cans of off brand cola with the anime playing just loud enough for them to comfortably hear it. There was just something about the situation that felt properly domestic in a way neither of them had considered before. This was pure bliss in Axel’s mind. After a few episodes, Roxas’ phone vibrated and the two of them let out a sigh while they pulled apart. 

“It’s Vanitas, I’ve gotta head home.” Roxas explained while he looked over the text message he’d received. 

“When do you think you can come back again?” Axel asked, knowing full well that the blond never snuck out three nights in a row.

“Xehanort’s going on a trip soon, maybe you can come over sometime.” the younger teen offered while he stood up. “I’ll text you when I get home, night Axel.”

Axel watched as Roxas wandered off to gather his younger brother from where he’d been playing a game with Riku and Kairi. Feeling his phone go off in his pocket, the redhead let out a sigh while pulling it out of his pocket. Ritsu leaned over the back of the couch to read over his shoulder with a quiet hum.

“Did you piss him off again?” Ritsu asked casually, watching the taller boy stand up.

“Not today.” Axel explained while pocketing his phone. 

“Wanna grab Riku and head up together?” the silver haired teen offered with a glance over at his twin.

“Sure, can’t hurt to have friends with how Isa is.” Axel answered.

The two teens wandered over to one of the arcade cabinets where Riku and Kairi were chatting. Riku noticed them walking over and let out a sigh as he waved goodbye to his friend before meeting his twin half way.

“What did you do now?” Riku grumbled while shoving his hands in his hoodie pocket. 

“Nothing this time. Isa wants Axel to meet him upstairs and we’re going with in case something happens.” Ritsu explained with a bright grin.

The elder of the twins let out a frustrated groan, glaring at Ritsu before following along as the three teenagers all hurried up the set of side stairs. They all piled into the room Isa had asked them to join him in before closing the door behind them. Isa motioned for his friends to take a seat, waiting for them to settle in before starting to talk. 

“Vanitas already knows we’re not humans.” Isa explained calmly with his hands folded in his lap. 

“Seriously?” Riku shifted in his bean bag chair to stare at the ceiling with a groan of dismay. 

“How’d he find out?” Axel asked with a glance at the door to make sure no one else was listening in. 

“Too much attention to detail.” the blue haired teen replied, seeming almost too calm for the situation. 

“How are you staying so calm? This could get us killed!” Riku glared at the boy who’d called them upstairs. 

“You marked him as your mate, didn’t you?” Ritsu grinned, noticing that the golden eyed boy’s relaxed demeanor was the same as the last time he’d had a good petting session.

Isa nodded, stretching his arms above his head. “I did.”

Axel finally noticed the bite mark on his friend’s forearm and let out a sigh. “I’ve known roxas for a couple years and haven’t even asked him out for coffee yet but you’ve known Vanitas for three hours and he’s already your mate? Lucky bastard.”

“Does this mean I can hit on Ventus?” Ritsu asked from his bean bag chair.

“Are you seriously asking that right now?” Riku threw one of his shoes at his twin with a glare at his younger brother.

“I can’t help it, he’s cute!” Ritsu responded with a quiet huff before handing over the shoe that was thrown at him. “And besides, it’s not like we didn’t see you staring at Sora!”

Riku grumbled quietly while he looked away, seeming to pout while the other three teenagers pulled out their phones to check the time. Isa let out a quiet huff when he noted it had only been ten minutes before standing up as he pocketed his phone.

“Let’s head back to my place, we can talk about this more there.” he explained while walking over to unlock the door. 

“Sounds good to me.” Ritsu replied, yawning with a grunt as he stretched. “Better than passing out here again.”


	6. Chapter 6

Roxas let out a quiet groan as he pulled the blanket over his head to block out the sunlight. An arm wrapped around his waist and as he felt a face press into the back of his neck, he patted Sora’s hand on his stomach.

“Morning Sora.” he mumbled before letting out a long yawn. 

Sora let out a quiet sound while snuggling closer to his elder brother. The two of them just tried to settle in to sleep a little longer. Cold hands pressed to the back of their necks and both teenage boys jumped up quickly while screaming. Roxas covered the back of his neck with both hands while he glared at his eldest brother, Vanitas’ laugh frustrating him as he tossed one of the pillows at him. Sora whined while he flopped down on his stomach. 

“I just wanted to sleep a little longer!” the brunet argued with a pout.

“Xehanort’s heading to work, we’re going out for breakfast while he’s gone.” Vanitas explained while tossing clothes at both of the other boys. “We’ve gotta start planning what we’re gonna do while he’s gone for two months.”

Roxas nodded, letting out a sigh as he pulled off the tank top he’d worn to bed before pulling his binder over his head. He adjusted it to be comfortable before standing up, pulling on his jeans and t-shirt before walking across the hall with his dirty tank top. The blond tossed his dirty shirt into his laundry hamper, sitting next to his dresser while he dug through his dresser for a pair of matching socks. All he wanted to do was get these last few days over and go back to school. School meant he could see Axel and Xion five days a week again, school meant getting out of the house, school meant freedom from his overprotective guardian. Xehanort hadn’t even known their parents very well before he’d adopted all four of the boys and yet now, after telling them a stupid story about faeries taking their parents away, he almost didn’t even want to let the teens out to go to school. Pulling on his boots, Roxas tied them quickly before joining his brothers downstairs.

“Ready to go?” Vanitas asked casually, a gauze pad taped on his neck with medical tape catching Roxas off guard. 

“Yeah...you okay?” the blond asked while he motioned to his neck in the same place where the gauze was on his brother’s neck.

The eldest of the four boys adjusted the collar of his shirt and nodded. “I’m fine, let’s go.”

Roxas’ eyebrow raised but he nodded and followed along out of the house. The four of them all chatted casually about what they wanted for breakfast while wandering down the street and out into the main part of the city. After about twenty minutes of aimless walking, a familiar voice called out to them. 

“Hey! Roxas, Sora, Ventus, Vanitas! Turn around!” the voice called out to them from behind.

Roxas was the first one to turn around and quickly found himself pulled into a tight hug. He bit back a laugh while hugging back as Axel lifted it up and spun him around. 

“What are you four doing out this early?” Ritsu asked curiously before offering Ven a smile.

“Vani’s buying us breakfast!” Sora explained excitedly. He noticed Riku and all but tackled him as he gave his new friend the tightest hug he could muster. “Morning Riku!”

“Morning Sora.” Riku replied as casually as he could, looking over at his twin with a thinly veiled panic while he hugged the smaller boy back. 

“If you’re all out getting breakfast, why not join us?” Axel suggested with his chin resting on top of Roxas’ head as he continued to hug his friend from behind. 

Roxas could see Riku’s face light up in alarm as he looked around for anyone to argue against it and the blond couldn’t help but torment his little brother’s new friend a little. “That sounds like a good idea. Is that alright with you Vani?”

“Sounds good to me.” Vanitas replied casually.

Roxas watched as his brother glanced at the bandaged forearm of the blue haired teen Vanitas had met the night before. He raised an eyebrow, putting two and two together at the matching gauze trophies both of them were sporting. Glancing up at his older brother, he was offered a glare to keep him silent and all Roxas could do was offer a nod of agreement. 

“Can we still get waffles?” Sora asked while looking up at Riku with puppy dog eyes.

Roxas let out a groan at the word waffles and leaned against his tall tree of a friend. “You eat waffles all the time!”

“Well yeah! I really like waffles.” the brunet replied defensively. 

“Come on Rox, we can order something else.” Axel whispered soothingly while resting his head on his friend’s shoulder. “Maybe next time I can take you out to lunch someplace nice.”

“That sounds nice.” the younger blond mumbled back.

“Come on, let’s go.” Axel grinned as he gripped his hand and began to lead the way down the road to the restaurant he and his friends had chosen before they’d left Isa’s house.

The mismatched group of friends chatted idly while they walked down the road, Roxas’ eyes occasionally darting over to see how Isa was hovering close to his eldest brother. The way Vanitas was being looked at seemed oddly possessive and something about it kept tugging at the back of his mind. He mentally shrugged it off with a side note that it was none of his business who his brother decided to date. If anything, he was jealous over how quickly his brother had gotten his point across with how long he’d been trying to get Axel to see he was flirting with him. Seriously, Axel was so dense that a brick would float better than he did. Said friend offered his hand a squeeze and Roxas relaxed with a soft sigh. This was the most he’d seen the redhead outside of school and he was definitely enjoying it. He loved spending all this time with him without worrying about being late to class. Ritsu held the door open for everyone as they flooded into the breakfast restaurant, letting the bored looking waitress seat them at a table in the corner by the window. Menus were passed around and funds were added together to calculate how much they’d each be able to spend on their meals. All together they had enough for a comfortable meal and a proper tip for their waitress. Sora got his waffles and poured an overwhelming amount of syrup on it to the point Roxas couldn’t hide his look of disgust.

“Are you seriously gonna eat that?” Roxas asked while he picked up a slice of bacon on his own plate.

“Yeah!” Sora replied happily while he hacked off a piece of his waffle stack before shoving the dripping mess into his mouth with an excited hum.

Roxas let out a shudder while looking away and taking a bite out of his nice, chewy slice of thick cut bacon. He couldn’t help but relax at the taste of his wonderfully cooked slice of cured pork belly in his hands while he leaned back in his plush booth seat. Vanitas and Isa swapped a couple items on their plates with each other for the item they’d preferred. It was oddly cute watching them trade potatoes and toast.

“Slow down Sora, you might choke.” Riku warned while offering the brunet a napkin.

Sora nodded in confirmation of what he’d been told, accepting the napkin that was offered to him before using it to wipe his face and hands. Once his face and hands were cleaned of syrup he took a drink of his apple juice to make sure he wouldn’t choke. Roxas poked at his eggs before taking a bite, listening to the other boys he was eating with as they chatted in between bites. Ventus sipped his orange juice quietly while he listened to whatever Ritsu was telling him about. The younger of the blond twins nudged his brother’s foot to make sure he was okay before going back to eating his breakfast. After a few minutes, Ventus excused himself to the bathroom and Ritsu volunteered to go with him in case he needed help.

“Nope, I’ve got it.” Roxas replied flatly as he stood up to follow his twin to the bathroom.

The two boys piled into the large end stall with Roxas leaning against the wall while his elder brother fell to his knees, gripping the sides of the toilet as he finally gave in and began evacuating the contents of his stomach. Roxas knelt down next to his twin, rubbing his back in soothing circles while making sure there wasn’t anything serious wasn’t anything serious being unwillingly removed from his stomach.

“I’ve got you Ven, let it all out.” Roxas mumbled while he tried to soothe his brother.

Ventus let out a quiet whimper, rubbing his lower stomach to try to do anything at all for the pain. His twin pulled out his cellphone, quickly texting Axel to ask if anyone had any painkillers while he continued to try and help his elder brother. After a couple minutes of awkward suffering knelt down on the bathroom floor of a strange restaurant they’d never been in that early before, Axel’s familiar voice could be heard from the other side of the thin stall door.

“Hey Rox, I’ve got some Tylenol and a cup of water from the table. How’s your brother doing?” he asked calmly while waiting for his friend to open the stall door.

“He’s in a lot of pain.” Roxas explained while he walked over to the door, accepting the glass and the blister pack of pills. “Thanks for this Ax, I know it's gotta be awkward.”

“It’s no problem Rox, that’s what friends are for. Besides, if you can’t rely on me for help when your brother’s fighting with brother nature’s red menace, how can I expect you to ask me for help when you’re fighting it?” Axel let out a quiet chuckle before pulling the stall door shut and holding it closed from the other side. “I’ll take the glass back when you’re done with it. Want us to ask for to-go boxes?”

“Please?” the younger of the two blonds asked while he watched to make sure his brother finished the glass of water after taking the two small softgels. “Our guardian’s gonna be out until six, think you could give us a hand getting Ven home?”

Axel accepted the glass that was handed to him over the stall door with a confirming hum. “Yeah, I think Ritsu would love to give him a piggyback ride.”

“I’ll text you in a few minutes when Ven can move. Sorry about ruining this for you all.” Roxas apologized while he latched the door before sitting with his twin on the cold tile floor.

Ventus took slow deep breaths to soothe his stomach while he attempted to not throw up any more than he already had. He’d been having one hell of a morning and Roxas could see how much of a toll it was taking on him. Once he could see his older brother’s pain finally starting to subside, he shot his friend a text that they were ready to go. He shoved his phone back into his pocket before helping his twin up, making sure the toilet sensor did its job before guiding Ventus back out to join the rest of their group. Ritsu rushed over to the blond twins, coaxing the elder of the two onto his back before they started on their trip back to the four brothers’ house. Roxas hung back with his redheaded beanpole of a friend while keeping an eye on his older brother.

“Thanks for this Axel, it really means a lot to me.” Roxas mumbled, glancing up at his friend.

“No problem, I’m always happy to help when you need me.” Axel replied while reaching over to lace their fingers together.

“Even if it’s 2am and you’ve gotta climb in my bedroom window?”

The redhead grinned and offered his friend’s hand a squeeze. “Especially if it’s 2am and I’ve gotta climb in your bedroom window.”

Roxas offered his friend a playful shove before resting his head against the other teen’s shoulder. They followed along behind the rest of their party, only pulling apart once they’d gotten to the driveway of the blond’s house to keep from being teased. The gaggle of teenagers all filed into the house and Ritsu set Ventus down on the couch, making sure he was all comfortable before allowing himself to be pulled out of the house while saying his goodbyes. Vanitas set the takeout boxes on the coffee table before getting forks for all of them while Sora ran upstairs to get armloads of pillows and blankets to tuck Ventus in. Roxas locked the front door before joining his twin on the couch. He rubbed Ven’s belly softly with his naturally cooler hands to help soothe away the pain. Sora piled blankets and pillows around his elder brothers before joining in the comfy pile while Vanitas handed each of them a fork. The eldest of the brothers passed out boxes of food to each of their respective owners before settling in on the floor and turning on the TV. They all ate quietly, enjoying their still warm takeout with a random reality TV show distracting them from reality. Even though things had gone bad while they were out at the restaurant, it still looked like they were going to have a good day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Ven, guess he's gotta find something to help with his cramps soon


	7. Chapter 7

Xehanort let out a sigh, loosening his tie while he unlocked the front door and stepped inside his quiet house. His adopted children had all fallen asleep curled up together on the couch and he couldn’t resist the smile that graced his face while he locked the front door. He could still feel the pain of losing their parents every time he saw them and yet he couldn’t help but be proud of his sons. Ventus was bright and would make an amazing heir to his company. Roxas and Vantias would do great in Eraqus’ department and would take no flack from anyone while Sora could have a great future in a more social job where he seemed to thrive. His four boys would all do great things after high school and, hopefully afterwards, college. He knew he was hard on them but after losing their parents to the fae he wasn’t going to risk it again. If being tough was what it took to keep his family then so be it. The boys would understand one day. Pulling his phone from his pocket, he snapped a picture of his boys and sent it to his boyfriend. 

_ Eraqus - They look so cute! _

_ Xehanort - They’re getting so big, no one warned me about this when I adopted them _

_ Eraqus - We’ve still got nearly a millennium with them Xeha, they’re still just babies in the grand scheme of things _

_ Xehanort - I know but it still seems like they’re growing up so fast _

_ Eraqus - What are you and the boys doing for dinner? _

_ Xehanort - I’m thinking Thai takeout today _

_ Eraqus - Takeout again? Give me twenty minutes to pick up some things, I’ll be over to make dinner for all of us _

_ Xehanort - Thank you love, see you soon _

_ Eraqus - See you soon ♥ _

Xehanort dropped his phone back into the pocket of his suit pants before softly shaking his sons awake. He softly shushed them to soothe the four grumpy teenage boys as they asked why they were being woken up. 

“Era’s coming over to make dinner for us. Can you boys clean up your blankets and pillows before he gets here?” Xehanort asked quietly while the boys sat up. 

Vanitas nodded and coaxed his twin into standing up. Sora pouted while tiredly dragging his pillow pile back up to his bedroom. Ventua grabbed a couple of his blankets upstairs while he worked on waking up. While the other three boys were upstairs, Roxas pulled their guardian into the kitchen to talk.

“Hey dad, Ven’s cramps are getting worse. He was throwing up earlier and I don’t think Tylenol is gonna help for much longer.” Roxas explained quietly, making sure none of his brothers could hear the conversation. “Can you please pick up some back and muscle pain meds on your way home from work tomorrow?”

“Are you sure you don’t want to try menstrual aids again?” the silver haired man asked while untying his tie and folding it. 

Roxas shook his head as he looked up at his guardian seriously. “No, the caffeine in those makes him tired and if he finds out what they are he’ll stop taking them again.”

Xehanort nodded and let out a sigh. “I’ll ask Era to pick some up on his way over, you go help your brothers.”

“Thanks dad!” Roxas grinned as he ran back out to grab his blankets and hurried upstairs. 

Xehanort watched his kids clean up their pillows and blankets before walking upstairs to change into something else. He could hear the boys talking to each other across the hall while he changed into a pair of loose lounge shorts and a plain t-shirt that the boys had picked out for him on one of their rare trips together as a family. As much as he knew they hated how protective he was of them, losing their parents was an emotional toll he hadn’t been prepared to pay. He had to keep them safe in case the fae came back for the boys/ They weren’t taking his sons from him, Luxu could find another way to pass the time without stealing them from him.

He wouldn’t lose his family again, not like that.


End file.
